Birthday: September 11, 1931 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Rabbi Prof. David Hartman was a leading thinker among philosophers of contemporary Judaism and an internationally renowned Jewish author.In 1971, Prof. Hartman immigrated to Israel from Montreal with his wife Barbara and their five children, a move which he viewed as an essential part of his mission to encourage a greater understanding between Jews...
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Rabbi Prof. David Hartman was a leading thinker among philosophers of contemporary Judaism and an internationally renowned Jewish author.In 1971, Prof. Hartman immigrated to Israel from Montreal with his wife Barbara and their five children, a move which he viewed as an essential part of his mission to encourage a greater understanding between Jews of diverse affiliations - both in Israel and the Diaspora - and to help build a more pluralistic and tolerant Israeli society. It is with this unique vision that David Hartman founded the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem in 1976, dedicating it to the name of his father. At the institute, Prof. Hartman built a team of research scholars in the study and teaching of classical Jewish sources and contemporary issues of Israeli society and Jewish life.David Hartman's work emphasized the centrality of the rebirth of the State of Israel - the challenge as well as the opportunities it offers to contemporary Judaism. His teachings drew upon the tradition of Orthodox Judaism and emphasize religious pluralism, both among Jews and in interfaith relations. Show less «
The centrality of mitzvah in Judaism shatters egocentricity and demands of the Jew that he judge him...Show more »
The centrality of mitzvah in Judaism shatters egocentricity and demands of the Jew that he judge himself by the way he acts and not by mystical myths regarding the purity or uniqueness of the Jewish soul. Na'aseh ve-nishma (we will do and we will understand) was the response of our people at Sinai. We understand ourselves through our doing. Show less «
The establishment of the modern State of Israel has removed us from the insulated world of the ghett...Show more »
The establishment of the modern State of Israel has removed us from the insulated world of the ghetto and has exposed Judaism and the Jewish people to the judgment of the world. We can no longer hide our weaknesses and petty failings. We live in total exposure.We must therefore define who we are by what we do and not by any obsession with the long and noble history of Jewish suffering. In coming back to our land and rebuilding our nation, we have chosen to give greater moral weight to our actions in the present than to noble dreams of the future or to the memories of our heroic past. Show less «
